Several publications and patent documents are cited throughout the specification in order to describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains. Each of these citations is incorporated herein by reference as though set forth in full.
There is currently no clinically proven therapy to delay or inhibit esophageal cancer progression in the Barrett's esophagus patient. The only approach recommended by the medical community is for the Barrett's patient to undergo endoscopic examination approximately every three years to observe for appearance of carcinoma. This is done grossly and through histology of randomly taken biopsies. Patients with dysplasia typically undergo mucosal resection or laser ablation of the affected tissue, a procedure with a painful recovery. Improvements in the treatment of Barrett's esophagus and the inhibition of Barrett's esophagus related adenocarcinoma are desired.